Two grandparent lions visit their grandchild for the first time and find many ways to express their love and wisdom.
They start by reflecting on their age and then move on to point out how joyous our wide world is and that life is a series of experiences. Some will be pleasant; some will not. But their underlying wish for the cub is to keep going forward, keep learning. The cub will taste and hear and see what they have already seen and tasted and heard. The cub will also experience difficulties and hardships. They counsel the cub that those trying times will be the most important occasions to keep hope alive in their heart. Caldecott winner Cordell’s companion book to Wish (2015) and Dream (2017) uses simple words and illustrations to express the bond between grandparents and their offspring. His unclothed lions walk on all fours even as they express human emotions and aspirations and appear to live in a thatched dwelling on the savanna. The language is conceptual and not always transparent to young readers: “The world is not always light. At times it goes dark. When even together, we are apart. In these times, we must look for the light. We must look for hope.” Still, the emotion rings true.
This abstract work will be rendered concrete when shared with a loved one on a lap . (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Feb. 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4847-7341-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: Oct. 15, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2018
Categories: CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S FAMILY
Did you like this book?
Even more alliterative hanky-panky from the creators of The Wonky Donkey (2010).
Operating on the principle (valid, here) that anything worth doing is worth overdoing, Smith and Cowley give their wildly popular Wonky Donkey a daughter—who, being “cute and small,” was a “dinky donkey”; having “beautiful long eyelashes” she was in consequence a “blinky dinky donkey”; and so on…and on…and on until the cumulative chorus sails past silly and ludicrous to irresistibly hysterical: “She was a stinky funky plinky-plonky winky-tinky,” etc. The repeating “Hee Haw!” chorus hardly suggests what any audience’s escalating response will be. In the illustrations the daughter sports her parent’s big, shiny eyes and winsome grin while posing in a multicolored mohawk next to a rustic boombox (“She was a punky blinky”), painting her hooves pink, crossing her rear legs to signal a need to pee (“winky-tinky inky-pinky”), demonstrating her smelliness with the help of a histrionic hummingbird, and finally cozying up to her proud, evidently single parent (there’s no sign of another) for a closing cuddle.
Should be packaged with an oxygen supply, as it will incontestably elicit uncontrollable gales of giggles. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Nov. 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-338-60083-4
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Oct. 13, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2019
Categories: CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S FAMILY
Did you like this book?
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Brock may be dressed like a superhero, but he sure doesn’t feel like one, as social anxieties threaten to rain on his fun .
Juan’s superhero-themed birthday party is about to start, but Brock is feeling trepidatious about attending without his brother as his trusty sidekick. His costume does not fit quite right, and he is already running late, and soon Brock is “way past worried.” When he arrives at the party he takes some deep breaths but is still afraid to jump in and so hides behind a tree. Hiding in the same tree is the similarly nervous Nelly, who’s new to the neighborhood. Through the simple act of sharing their anxieties, the children find themselves ready to face their fears. This true-to-life depiction of social anxiety is simply but effectively rendered. While both Nelly and Brock try taking deep breathes to calm their anxieties without success, it is the act of sharing their worries in a safe space with someone who understands that ultimately brings relief. With similar themes, Brock’s tale would make a lovely companion for Tom Percival’s Ruby Finds a Worry (2019) on social-emotional–development bookshelves. Brock is depicted with black hair and tan skin, Nelly presents White, and peers at the party appear fairly diverse.
Though books on childhood anxiety are numerous, it is worth making space on the shelf for this one. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-8075-8686-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Whitman
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2020
Categories: CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES
Did you like this book?
© Copyright 2021 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
